Sunday, March 8, 2020
Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Loneliness is …when you wish someone else was there, and solitude is when you enjoy being alone. — Jonathan Van Ness
This path is an alternative to the lifestyles portrayed by Hollywood and the popular media. It is about finding happiness on a deeper level than immediate gratification. It is about a bigger, fuller kind of happiness than we can find in a new car or an erotic one-night stand. No hit sitcom or drama shows the way. No commercial touts the joy that can be found in peace of mind.
Solitude is quiet. It is not loneliness, and it is not neediness. Solitude is the way we meet ourselves; it is the place where we first get honest and finally accept the truths we have been avoiding. It is the place where we are alone with God. Many of us don’t know how to be alone. We have never actually accepted our own companionship or taken on the role of self-care.
We can start by taking a few minutes of quiet, in a room or on a park bench. In that quiet moment, we might simply make a list of what we are grateful for, or speak to God about what we want help with. In solitude, we learn to reach down into our inner well of knowing, where we find guidance.
Today, I will seek the solitude that transforms my life.
Hazelden Foundation
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